Promises
by hannefm
Summary: Wedding days are meant to be filled with a variety of feelings. Excitement, nervousness, joy, exhaustion, love. But there definitely isn't meant to be this much pain.
1. Chapter 1 - The Big Day

**Chapter 1 – The Big Day**

 **A/N:** Quick disclaimer, I do not own Yuri! on Ice or any of its characters.

* * *

 _Deep breaths._ Yuuri told himself as he inhaled. _It's going to be fine._

Ever since he had fallen into bed alone last night there had been this feeling in the pit of his stomach. A confusing mix of nervousness and excitement, anxiety and joy, causing him to have barely slept last night.

It had been 6 months since Yuuri had proposed to Victor. Well, proposed to Victor _again_. It had been at the end of Yuuri's Gala performance at the Grand Prix Final after Yuuri had finally won gold, with Victor earning silver. As the music drew to a close, Yuri and Chris shoved a confused Victor out onto the ice before Yuuri elegantly skated over to him and knelt down to ask "Will you marry me Vitya?". It had been a heartfelt moment with Victor letting out happy tears as he cried "Of course." before Yuuri stood up to kiss him.

And now here he was, sat in a flashy rental car with his father, Phichit and Yuuko on the way to the wedding hall.

"Yuuri~ what's the matter?" Phichit, who was sat beside Yuuri, asked having noticed that his friend seemed worried.

"Ah, it's nothing, I'm fine." Yuuri quickly dismissed.

"If you've got some of the pre-wedding nerves, don't worry Yuuri, it's completely normal." Yuuko comforted with a soft smile from the other side of Phichit.

Whilst the idea that he wasn't the only person to feel a bit scared on their wedding day somewhat eased Yuuri's concerns, it didn't actually stop the anxiety bubbling up inside him.

* * *

Victor wasn't doing much better. He usually had a good grasp on his emotions but today his stomach was doing flips. He was so thrilled that _today was the day_. The day when he would finally marry Katsuki Yuuri and they could spend the rest of their lives together. But there were the nerves too. He'd been planning this day alongside Yuuri for months and so many things could go wrong. The caterers might mess up the food or not show up at all, what if Chris lost the rings before the ceremony? Victor found himself worrying over all the little things before he realised he had been avoiding the real cause of his concern: In all his years, the only thing Victor Nikiforov had related 'commitment' too was ice skating. For over 20 years he had devoted his life entirely to ice skating. Sure, he had friends but they were all work related, and his family? He'd barely spoken to them the past few years, they had not even bothered replying to his wedding invitations.

But now his life had been completely changed. Ever since he had flown over to Japan to coach Yuuri 2 years ago, it had become vastly different, filled with genuine love, and he had now even officially retired from skating, this time permanently. The worry of letting Yuuri down now, not knowing what to do with his life, was frightening. There was no doubt in his mind that he loved Katsuki Yuuri and that he always would. He could honestly say that he never wanted to part ways with the man or grow apart, but the fear of being inadequate or disappointing his partner built.

Victor was lost in his thoughts and emotions in the backroom when Chris came in to give him a five-minute warning.

"The ceremony is due to start in about five minutes, are you ready?"

Victor took a deep breath before straightening his tie and smoothing his suit and hair. "As I'll ever be."

"Hey, don't worry so much, it'll be fine. Not to mention you look amazing. Yuuri's a lucky man." Chris flirted, glancing over Victor once with his eyes before looking away. "Although I could say the same about you, Yuuri is damn beautiful too."

Victor smirked at the compliments from Chris before quipping "Don't stare too long Chris. Yuuri and I will both be married men by the end of the hour. Besides, you've already got somebody."

"Very true." Chris chuckled. "Well, besides the tragic loss of two hot bachelors, I really am glad that you found someone."

"Thanks Chris."

The two waited a bit, making small talk before it was time for Victor to go out and wait by the altar. "Good luck out there, and remember, everyone here wants to support the two of you, so don't worry too much."

"Thank you." Victor said, giving him a genuine smile before heading out of the room alongside the blond.

* * *

After twenty minutes of standing there and waiting in front of everybody, Victor was starting to get agitated. _Where is he? Would he really run away? Does he not want to go through with it?_ Victor thought nervously before answering himself. _No, he loves me. We've talked to each other enough for me to know that. Maybe he got anxious and needed some time to calm down?_ He reasoned internally. _Oh god, but what if there was an accident? If there's been no news on where he is then maybe-_

His train of thought came to a halt as he noticed Yuuri's mother, Hiroko, walking into the room and coming over to him.

"Victor dear, can we talk outside?" She whispered, a slight tremor to her voice.

Victor nodded uneasily before following her out of the room. He tried to ignore the people whispering as he left the room, reminding himself of Chris' words from earlier ' _Everyone here wants to support the two of you.'_

Hiroko stopped them just outside of the hall. "Vicchan…" She said, tears beginning to well in her eyes.

 _Oh no, what the hell has happened._ Victor thought with fear.

"I just got a call from the hospital nearby. The car with Yuuri and the others…it was in an accident. They've all been taken to hospital."

Victor's eyes widened, panic being his immediate reaction. _No. Please no, please, not today, not_ him.

Victor was _freaking out_ inside right now, but he tried to keep up a fairly collected front as he took deep breaths. "Is…Are they okay? Is it bad?"

"They wouldn't say but it seemed pretty serious." Hiroko said, disheartened.

As Victor tried to process that information Yuri walked in.

"What the hell is going on Victor? Everyone's been waiting for like half an hour now, where is that Katsudon?" The younger Russian asked rudely.

Victor didn't even bother replying to Yuri, instead speaking to Hiroko. "We need to go see them. Now."

"Oi, Victor, are you deaf, what the fu-" Yuri tried pursuing his conversation.

"Yuri dear, not now. There was a car crash." Hiroko informed him, having noticed that Victor was clearly too occupied with worry to explain what was happening to the boy.

Yuri lost the angry crease between his eyebrows as his eyes widened and he realised the situation.

"Is he…are they okay? Is anyone hurt?"

"They're in the hospital, but we don't know how bad the situation is." Hiroko told him morbidly.

"I'm sorry, if I'd known…" Yuri trailed off, eyeing a distant looking Victor.

Takeshi Nishigori then came into the hallway, after having had a phone call from the hospital too. He looked at Hiroko "Did you get a call as well?" he questioned.

She nodded.

Takeshi gave her and Victor a sympathetic look before offering to drive the two of them and Yuuri's sister, Mari, to the hospital.

"Yuri, could you please tell Chris or Yakov what's going on? They can take care of informing everyone else, we need to get going." Takeshi asked with a serious look on his face.

Yuri gave a nod before Takeshi went to collect the triplets and the group left for the hospital.

"Vicchan, would you mind if Mari and I go check on Toshiya while you see Yuuri? Apparently, they're in different wards." Hiroko asked having arrived in the hospital with the others. Victor mumbled an agreement.

* * *

Upon their arrival, the Nishigoris went straight off to see Yuuko, so now Victor was left alone to find Yuuri's room.

The nurse who had told him that Katsuki Yuuri's room was number 206 had also told him that no visitors were currently allowed in to see that patient. But rules like that would hardly stop Victor seeing his fiancé on what was meant to be their wedding day.

He snuck into the room and fortunately found that no staff were inside to yell at him. From the doorway, he could see that both Yuuri's right arm and right leg were in casts but any other damage was hidden from him by the blankets and the machines next to the bed.

The silver-haired man shuffled over to sit in a chair by Yuuri's bedside and was pleasantly surprised to find him awake, though only barely. "Yuuri!" Victor called with a quiet shout, moving to lean over his partner. He stared into his lover's half lidded eyes, noticing the tired gaze and the bandages wrapped around his head.

"Victor?" Yuuri said weakly, tears started prickling in his eyes upon seeing his fiancé. "I'm sorry."

 _He's apologising? This stupid,_ beautiful _idiot is apologising?_ Victor sighed. "Yuuri, you don't need to apologise."

"But we were supposed to get married today and I kept you waiting." Yuuri croaked.

Victor smiled warmly, eyes glistening. "Well then, just promise me that we can still get married and that we'll be together forever."

Feebly, Yuuri smiled up at him. "I promise." He mumbled.

Victor then leant down to place a soft, delicate kiss on his other-half's unbandaged cheek.

When he moved away, he saw that Yuuri's eyes were closed.

"Yuuri, are you okay? Yuuri?" Victor asked with a concerned frown.

There was no verbal response from the Japanese man and that's when the machine to Victor's right let out a screeching flatline beep.

"Yuuri?!" Victor shouts, standing up abruptly, his own heart pounding against his chest.

He doesn't even have time to properly react before a couple of nurses and a doctor run into the room, one of them promptly dragging him away and kicking him out of the room, slamming the door shut.

Stood there, staring at the closed door, Victor finally started crying. He backed up, leaning on the wall next to the door and slid down it until he was sat on the floor with tears pouring down his face.

 _Why? Why him? Please, don't leave me Yuuri._

* * *

 **A/N:** Hello! This was my first time writing for YoI so let me know if you think anything was off about the characters. I hope you guys liked this, I think it works quite well as a short one-shot but I could write another 3 or 4 chapters for this so let me know if you would want more. Feel free to leave reviews and questions ^^

Also, this was somewhat inspired by a prompt from the 'otpprompt' tumblr, with the post /post/154327546068/imagine-that-after-many-happy-years-of-being


	2. Chapter 2 - Waiting

**Chapter 2 - Waiting**

He doesn't know how long he sat there, sobbing into his hands whilst internally begging for Yuuri to be okay, for Yuuri to stay by his side. But eventually, Yuri and Yakov arrived, finding him sat there in his wedding suit, a complete wreck.

"Vitya…" Yakov started as he slowly bent his knees so that he was closer to Victor.

He carefully lay a hand on the retired skater's shoulder before pulling him into a hug in an attempt to soothe his distress.

"H-h-he flatlined. They're i-in there now. I don't-I don't know what-" Victor snivelled, burying his face in the crook of Yakov's neck. So many thoughts were rushing through his head and he couldn't get any of them out properly. Instead Yakov just shushed him and Victor let out harsh sobs.

When Yuri had agreed to come here with Yakov, he hadn't been expecting this. He had been telling himself that it probably hadn't been that bad of a crash, that it was more of a 'just in case there's anything serious, we'll bring them in to check them over' kind of hospital visit or maybe even just seeing to a broken bone or two.

' _He flatlined.'_ The words shook Yuri more than he'd like to admit, even more so than seeing Victor Nikiforov, once the world'sbest figure skater, blubbering into his old coach's coat. Crying his heart out because the one person who truly made him happy was very possibly dying on the other side of this damn door on the day they were meant to get married.

Speaking of that _damn door,_ a nurse had just walked out of it, mildly startled as she saw Victor and Yakov squatting by the door.

"Ah, are you three here for Katsuki Yuuri?" She asked.

Victor's gaze snapped up to look at the woman before he stood with haste. "Yes." He said, trying to wipe the tears away and stop the sobs that tried to escape his lips.

"You'll be glad to hear he's stabilised for now. However, the damage he sustained in the crash has still left him in a critical condition. I'm afraid he's not out of the woods yet." She said sympathetically.

"What happened? He was awake and then he just…"

"Well, as you may have noticed, he sustained a head injury. It seems the blood built up in his brain over time causing a lot of pressure which all came to a head rather quickly. Fortunately, the doctor was able to release the pressure for now and she reckons it shouldn't happen again, but we'll be keeping a close eye on him just in case. He's unconscious at the moment and likely won't wake up for a day or two."

"I see." Victor trailed off, taking in the information. _A head injury…_

"Also he's not allowed visitors at the moment I'm afraid."

"I don't suppose you could tell us when we will be able to see him?" Yakov asked.

"Provided that he remains stable and no incidents occur, then tomorrow afternoon at the earliest."

Yakov threw her a quiet "Thank you." Before the nurse left, likely going to fill out some paperwork about Yuuri.

* * *

Victor spent most of the day by the door to Yuuri's room. Other people - friends and guests – would come by every now and then to see how Yuuri was doing only to be informed by Yakov of the situation. Yuri remained unusually quiet throughout the day, giving the forlorn looking Victor sad glances occasionally.

Eventually someone comes over to tell them that no visitors could see Yuuri or linger in the hallway overnight. With that, Yakov and Yuri departed for the hotel and Victor dragged himself to the nearest waiting room he could find and settled himself there.

His eyes were red and puffy from the stress of the day and crying so much. The tears had stopped falling a few hours ago but that didn't mean he didn't feel like weeping anymore. Thoughts of what he and Yuuri _should_ have been doing tonight filled his mind. After a spectacular party that Victor had helped plan, they were meant to go back to their hotel room and Victor was supposed to be cuddling and worshipping his likely incredibly tired and slightly drunk new-husband. _Supposed to be._

Here he was, sat in a hospital waiting room, still unmarried and his husband-to-be was unconscious and hurt and Victor wasn't even allowed to see him and it's just _so unfair._ Quiet sobs shook through Victor as the contrast between the dream and the shitty reality crushed him.

At some point, Yuuri's mother found her way to him. Of course, she too wanted to remain in the hospital with two of her most precious persons being here. Without a word, she sat down next to him and gently lay her hand on the back of Victor's hunched over form, rubbing calming circles there.

After taking a couple of deep breathes, Victor manages to stop crying and looks over to Hiroko.

"Hi Vicchan." She greeted, a sombre smile edging onto her face. Victor could tell from the faded tear streaks and the redness in her eyes and nose that she too had been crying recently.

"Hello Hiroko." Victor took another deep breath before continuing. "I'm sorry. I must look such a wreck right now."

"I'd say you have more than enough reason to be like this today Vicchan."

The Russian let out a half laugh-half sob before humming his agreement.

He knew that Hiroko had already been informed of Yuuri's current situation. She had come earlier in the day with Mari and Minako only to be informed by Yakov of Yuuri's ' _critical condition,_ _unconscious'_ status. After trying to comfort Victor somewhat, they had left him in Yakov's care to instead go and see Toshiya as he was awake and allowed visitors.

A moment of silence passed and then Victor asked "How is Toshiya doing?"

"He's not doing too badly. He has a mild concussion, a fractured arm and a couple of bumps and bruises but nothing too serious. They'll probably release him tomorrow as long as the concussion doesn't act up." She informed him.

Victor gave what was meant to be a reassuring smile, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm glad his condition isn't too severe at least."

"Mmm." Hiroko hummed in agreement. "Apparently, the other vehicle drove into the right side of their car. The side Yuuri and the driver were sitting on, so they were left in the worst condition. Takeshi-kun said Yuuko-chan isn't doing too badly and Chris mentioned to me that Phichit is doing okay too. Maybe we could go visit them tomorrow during visiting hours?" Hiroko proposed, knowing that Victor could do with some distraction to pass the time until he was allowed to see Yuuri again.

"Hmm, that would be good."

A part of Victor felt guilty for not having gone to visit them today, but honestly, he couldn't bear to drag himself any further away from Yuuri than he already was. And whilst it did provide some relief for Victor that none of the others in the car were in too serious a condition, he couldn't bask in that comfort until he knew Yuuri was safe and sound.

Hiroko removed her hand from Victor's back and leant back in her chair. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, the sounds of the night-shift hospital staff wondering the halls providing some background noise to the otherwise quiet room.

"Vicchan?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you." Hiroko said.

Victor gave her a quizzical look. "What for?"

"Thank you for coming to Japan and coaching my son. Thank you for loving him as he is and taking care of him, for being good to him. I honestly don't think I could think of anyone better for him to spend the rest of his life with."

A smile dared to pull at Victor's lips. "I should be the one thanking you, for having and raising such a wonderful and kind son."

Hiroko gave a light chuckle at that. "You know, I was overjoyed when Yuuri told me that the two of you were engaged. When he was a teenager, he had been so scared that he would be alone forever, that no-one could ever love him. I'm just so happy that you found him." Tears were brimming in her eyes now, whether from happiness, the memories of a young and upset Yuuri or from the current predicament they were in, Victor could not tell.

Putting an arm over her shoulder, the Russian brought his supposed-to-be mother-in-law into a hug across the armrest between them. He let her cry into his shoulder for a bit before she finally fell asleep. Afterwards, Victor gently released her from the hug, propping her up against the back of her chair, before carefully taking off his coat and laying it over her.

He didn't sleep a wink all night.

* * *

 **A/N:** There was a lot of Victor crying this chapter welp. I'm glad some of you liked the first chapter (even if this story is kind of sad) so I'm gunna continue this for a few more chapters. As always, feedback is much appreciated and thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3 - Visiting

**Chapter 3 – Visiting**

Around 8:30 in the morning, Mari arrived at the waiting room. "Morning." She said as she approached the exhausted Russian and her sleeping mother.

"Hi Mari." Victor replied, looking up at her from where he sat.

Mari could tell he hadn't slept at all, his usually dazzling eyes were too bloodshot, with bags weighing them down. "How are you holding up?" She asked, though she could already guess the answer. Of course, she too was in pain, knowing that her little brother's life was hanging by a thread, but she had always been good at keeping it together in dire situations like these. Clearly, Victor was not, but she could hardly criticise him for that.

"Terrible. But once I can go see Yuuri…I'm sure it'll help." Victor told her, his voice sounding rough.

"I'm guessing if you're still sat out here, we aren't allowed to see him yet?"

"Yeah. They said the earliest he'd be permitted visitors is this afternoon."

A moment of quiet passed between the two before Mari suggested "I know you feel like shit, but why don't we go visit the others when mum wakes up? I've heard they're all awake so I'm sure they'd appreciate a visit. Plus, it might help take your mind off things for a bit, maybe it'll even make the time pass faster."

"Mmm, I'd like that." Victor agreed. He wasn't particularly confident that it would really relieve his stress that much, but he did feel like he needed to check up on the others involved in the incident, they were his friends and family after all.

* * *

The first person they visited was Phichit. The professional skater's brother and sister were there as they had tagged along for the wedding, finally having an excuse to travel and meet Phichit's beloved friend for the special day. Chris and Celestino were also there, keeping him company.

"Ah, Victor! Mari! Hiroko!" Phichit called, waving to the three as they walked over to his bedside.

"Hi Phichit." Mari and Hiroko responded.

Victor tried to fake a smile in greeting, not trusting his voice, but it clearly didn't work.

"Is everything okay?" Phichit asked them, his expression falling into a small frown.

Mari glanced at Victor who was still stood beside her, now looking at his feet. "We're still not allowed in to see Yuuri so we wanted to come around and see how you and the others were doing." She explained.

A look of understanding passed on Phichit's face. "Don't worry too much Victor, I heard about what happened yesterday but I'm sure he'll pull through, he's the strongest guy I know." Phichit encouraged softly.

Victor only hummed in agreement.

Soon, with some assistance from Phichit's siblings, the conversation picked up a bit, though Victor remained unusually quiet throughout, earning himself some concerned side glances from Chris. Victor, whilst not speaking, did listen however. He learned that besides a cracked rib, Phichit was fine and had been permitted to leave in a few hours once all his paperwork was filled out. He also observed that Phichit's siblings had a lot in common with their brother, particularly personality wise with them both proving to be quite bubbly.

Time went by surprisingly quickly, much to Victor's relief, and after an hour Mari looked to Victor and Hiroko. "Well, we better go check up on Yuuko and dad." She said.

"Hey, some of the others and I are meeting up for lunch in the canteen around 12, you guys should join us and make sure you eat something." Chris chimed in.

"That's a good idea Chris." Hiroko replied.

"Sure, we'll meet you there." Mari told him.

* * *

Visiting the other two patients went rather similarly to the meeting with Phichit. After exchanging hellos, Yuuko and Toshiya had both expressed concern and encouragement for Victor and Yuuri before trying to move onto more light-hearted conversation.

At least there had been some good news: the two Japanese patients had both been told that they could leave that evening provided no further issues arose.

Around 12 o'clock Mari and Victor went for lunch in the hospital's canteen, leaving Hiroko with Toshiya.

There, they met up with a group of friends and they all sat down at a bench with Victor sitting between Chris and Mari whilst Otabek, Yuri and Yakov sat on the other side of the table.

Following his greetings to everyone, Victor became engrossed in his food, trying to tune-out the others' conversation. The food itself wasn't half bad, Victor reflected, considering the nasty rumours he'd heard about hospital cuisine. It was nowhere near close to what Victor was used to when eating out but still not awful.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed his shoulder and started shaking him. "Victor, are you even listening to me?" Chris asked.

Victor looked up, putting on one of his false smiles. "Sorry Chris, I was just thinking about the food."

The Swiss gave him a troubled look. "The others went to grab some more food; do you want anything?"

It wasn't until Chris told him that he realised the table was indeed empty besides himself and Chris. To answer the blond's question, he gave a shake of his head before going back to staring and picking at his food.

After a few moments of silence, Chris gave a sigh. "You know if you're feeling dreadful it's fine. But maybe you could talk to us about, you don't have to just bottle it up okay?" Chris said in a hushed tone.

"Talk to you about what Chris? You all know why I'm miserable and there's absolutely nothing any of you can do about it." Victor almost snapped with an irritated tone as his poor mood and tiredness caught up to him.

Chris knew his friend was right but the attitude with which Victor said it hurt him somewhat, even if he understood that Victor was just scared and upset. "I know Victor, I'm sorry. In all honesty, I just want to help you but I don't know how, none of us do."

Victor exhaled. He hadn't meant to speak so sharply to his best friend, but he was so stressed it kind of just happened. "I'm sorry. I just…I just need to be with Yuuri. I need him awake and smiling and I know I can't have that right now so please, just let me be."

Chris put his arm around Victor, giving him another concerned look before giving in. "Okay, if that's what you want. But if there's anything I can do to help, just tell me alright?"

Conceding, Victor gave a small nod before turning his eyes back to the food in front of him, ignoring the worried glances from the others as they returned to the table.

* * *

After lunch, Mari went to take some food to her parents and made Victor promise that he would inform her as soon as Yuuri was allowed visitors. The others accompanied Victor back to the waiting area near Yuuri's room, even if he didn't want to talk much with them the least they could do was provide him with some company, even if they all knew they weren't the company he really needed right now.

It was around 3pm when a nurse cautiously approached the group in the waiting room. She informed them that "The patient in room 6 has been stable for quite a while so he is now allowed visitors, though he has been restricted to just three visitors at a time."

Victor snaps out of his depressive stupor and nearly goddamn sprints to the room, leaving the others behind. He barges through the door and stops.

In front of him is a peacefully sleeping Yuuri, the white hospital bedsheets tucked up under the dark-haired man's arms. Victor moves to sit in the chair by Yuuri's bedside and quickly shifts his hand to latch onto Yuuri's un-plastered arm, rubbing it gently with his thumb.

A part of him is relieved to be close to his lover again, but he was still on edge, his gaze flicking between Yuuri's slumbering expression and the heartrate monitor steadily beeping and showing Yuuri's heartbeat.

 _Please wake up soon Yuuri, I need you._

* * *

Just outside of the room, there was a small debate going on as to who else should be allowed to go in. A minute or two later, it was settled and Chris and Yuri entered the room.

"Dammit Victor, I know you were eager to see him but you didn't need to run off like that." Yuri commented agitatedly. "Isn't like he's going anywhere anyway." He added in a mutter under his breath.

"Ah it's fine Yurio, he didn't hurt anyone so I don't see any problem with it." Chris said.

The two kept Victor company for a few minutes, watching over him and the unconscious Yuuri. Chris sent a text to Mari letting her know that Yuuri was allowed visitors, because _of course_ Victor had forgotten to do it in his excitement to be with Yuuri again.

Not long after, there was a light knock on the door and Hiroko poked her head around the entrance. Chris and Yuri quickly stood up from their seats and let Hiroko and Mari come in before leaving, not wanting to intrude or break the three visitors rule. "See you guys later, let us know if his situation changes at all." Chris said to Mari on his way out.

"Sure thing. Thanks for keeping an eye on them for us."

Victor sits quietly as Mari and Hiroko settle down in the room and talk, all glad to be back with Yuuri, despite his unconsciousness.

* * *

Sometime later a doctor enters the room and walks over to stand by the foot of Yuuri's bed, a clip board in her hand.

"Good afternoon, I assume you are Mr Katsuki's family?"

"Yes." Mari said whilst the other two gave an affirmative nod.

"If now is a good time, I'd like to quickly go through Mr Katsuki's injuries with you."

"We'd appreciate that greatly." Hiroko said.

"Well, as you were likely told before, Mr Katsuki has a moderate head injury. Whilst it did cause quite a scare yesterday, I'm fairly certain that such an occurrence should not happen again now that he's passed the twenty-four-hour mark without incident."

"Will there be any side effects?" Mari asked.

The doctor gave a sigh. "Whilst we are learning more and more about the human brain, I'm afraid that with head injuries we still cannot guarantee the effects of the damage Mr Katsuki has sustained."

"Do you know how severe the effects may be? You said it was a moderate head injury?" Victor inquired, concern lacing his voice.

"Well yes, the actual damage to the tissues of Mr Katsuki's brain is actually fairly minimal, but as I said, head injuries can be unpredictable even with the smallest amount of damage. Though, I can tell you that in most cases like Mr Katsuki's there are rarely long-term effects."

The three listening to the doctor all let out a breath they hadn't know they had been holding.

"It is, however, incredibly likely he will have short-term effects: nausea, dizziness, confusion, difficulties with his senses. I can get one of the nurses to bring you some leaflets about all the possible effects. But in summary, he will need to be taken care of and someone will need to watch over him for about a month just to keep him safe and to check for any changes in his condition."

"That's fine, we'll be able to do that." Hiroko said lightly.

"It's good to see he has people to take of him." The doctor said before continuing "He will almost definitely need a lot of help since, as you have likely guessed from his casts, he has broken his right leg and arm. The combination of the breakages will make it especially difficult for him to get around by himself as he will struggle to use crutches or even a manual wheelchair without assistance."

Victor hadn't even thought about that. _How could I not have considered that!_ Victor wondered, mentally facepalming. Although he knew why – he'd been so concerned with Yuuri _surviving_ and waking up he hadn't thought about his injuries and how they would have to deal with them during the healing process.

"Besides that, it's mostly just cuts and bruises." The doctor finished. "I'll be able to give you more details on how to treat him at home and such once he's woken up and we understand the side effects of his head injury a bit more. Do you have any questions?"

"Why hasn't he woken up yet?"

"Ah, well after yesterday's incident, once I released the pressure in his brain he woke up and was extremely confused and disoriented. Because of this we decided to sedate him to prevent him from hurting himself or anyone else. We'll be taking him off the sedatives in a few hours but there's a good chance he'll remain asleep for another day or so." The doctor answered. "Any other questions?"

The three visitors looked to each other before shaking their heads.

"Well if that's all, I better be heading off to attend to other patients. If you require anything, please speak to one of the nurses."

With that, the doctor exited the room and Mari and Hiroko continued to talk, now discussing some basic plans for how they can help with Yuuri's recovery.

Time passes by and before Victor knows it, a nurse enters the room to inform them that visiting hours will be ending soon and that they need to leave. After quietly leaving the room, Victor made to sit in the waiting room but Hiroko grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Vicchan, you need to sleep. Come home to the inn with Mari and I."

Victor hesitated. He didn't want to leave. _What if something happens and I'm not here? What if he wakes up and needs me, what if-_

"Yuuri wouldn't want you neglecting your health for his sake Victor." Mari said. "Besides, the staff aren't gunna let you in that room until 8am tomorrow, you may as well get a good night's sleep."

With little argument against it, and the exhaustion of the past thirty-six hours weighing him down, Victor followed them out to the car park where they met up with Minako who drove the three of them and Toshiya home to the onsen.

* * *

 **A/N:** I hope you guys liked this chapter, it ended up a bit longer than I expected but I guess that's a good thing. A special thanks to those who left feedback and of course thanks for reading this ^^

Also – don't think I've mentioned it earlier in the fic but the wedding was taking place not far from Hasetsu, with a number of the guests staying at Yuu-topia, hence returning to the inn is a viable option for them.


	4. Chapter 4 - Day 5

**A/N:** Sorry for the late update, I changed my mind a few times on how I wanted this chapter to play out, meaning I had to rewrite it a lot. But anyway, here it is!

 **Chapter 4 – Day 5**

The next couple of days went by slowly, with Victor going into the hospital room as soon as visiting hours started and sitting by Yuuri's side until they ended. Of course, Victor wasn't the only one visiting. Yuuri's family and Minako would take turns staying with Victor and Yuuri in pairs and various other friends would stop by the hospital to show their support and ask for updates. At the end of each day, Hiroko and Mari would drag Victor home so that he could clean-up, sleep and eat some proper food.

It wasn't until the fourth night since the accident that Yuuri finally woke up.

Victor was, much to his dismay, not present. In fact, Yuuri had woken up at around three in the morning and the only ones who were there at the time were hospital staff. A nurse had been coming to check on him when she found the man whimpering and crying in his bed. The pain of his injuries had been excruciating and the doctor on shift quickly put him on a drip of high-dosage painkillers which lulled Yuuri back to sleep.

The next morning, when Victor arrived with Yuuri's family, the doctor explained to them what had happened.

"He appeared to be in a lot of pain, which isn't very surprising all things considered. We have put him on some strong painkillers, so hopefully the next time he wakes up he will be feeling a bit better and he'll be a bit more cognitive."

"I see." Victor said. He was frustrated that Yuuri had _finally_ woken up and he had not been there. He was also troubled to hear that Yuuri had been in severe pain when he had awakened, all alone. "Will he wake up again soon?" Victor inquired hopefully.

"It's fairly likely he will wake up again sometime today, though the painkillers, alongside the head injury, may keep him quite drowsy despite the fact that he's been sleeping for such a long time so please do keep that in mind."

"You mean he probably won't stay awake for long?" Mari asked.

"Yes, there's a good chance he'll only be awake for a short-period of time." The doctor clarified. "I apologise but I need to go attend to other patients now. As always, if you have any concerns please speak with one of the nurses."

* * *

The second time Yuuri woke was later that day. This time however, Victor was sat at his bedside, rearranging one of the many bouquets of flowers that had been brought for Yuuri whilst the rest of the Katsuki family had stepped out for a moment to sort out some of the hospital paperwork.

The dark-haired man groaned as he shuffled under the covers and fluttered his eyes open, trying to focus his vision on the blur hovering next to him. "…Vic-?"

Gaze darting up immediately, Victor cut Yuuri off by calling his name excitedly and leaning over him to hold the injured man in a delicate embrace. There were so many comments Victor wanted to say in that moment, so many words he had rehearsed in his head over the past few days that he wanted to tell Yuuri and yet none of them came out. He just gave a whispered "Thank god."

"V-Victor?" Yuuri said, managing to get the whole name out this time. His voice was hoarse and gruff from not being used in so long and the lack of moisture in his throat.

Victor nuzzled into the crook of Yuuri's neck on the man's left side, tears leaking out of his eyes.

Noticing his fiancé's distress, Yuuri tried to move his non-plastered arm to hug the taller man's back but quickly realised he wouldn't be able to when the tubes and needles in his arm didn't allow for much movement, so instead he just enjoyed the warmth of Victor's hug.

Eventually, Victor backed-up a bit so he could stare into Yuuri's eyes. "I love you so much moyo zolotse."

"I love you too Vitya." Yuuri smiled up at him as Victor brought a hand to cup his face.

Victor was thrilled that the love of his life was awake after so long, but there was that thought nagging at the back of his head. _What if he passes out again? What if he flatlines?_ Memories of what had occurred the last time the two had exchanged loving words after Yuuri had awoken began to flood his mind.

Yuuri picked up on the distance in his partner's stare and asked cautiously "Victor?"

"Don't you ever do that again." Victor nearly sobbed, looking away from Yuuri's eyes and down at the bed.

"What do you mean?"

"One second you were promising me that it would all be fine and the next you were flatlining." Victor told him, moving forward to hold Yuuri once more. "Never again, please."

Yuuri was still feeling a bit dazed and couldn't fully concentrate on Victor's words, but he did know he was scared by how shaken Victor was. How shaken Victor was by an event that Yuuri _couldn't even_ _remember_. "Ah, I'm sorry I…I don't quite recall that happening but I'm sorry if I frightened you. I'll do my best not to do it again."

 _Apologising again, dammit._ Victor sighed, moving to sit up and look at his fiancé."Yuuri – don't worry, it wasn't your fault. It just frightened me a little. You don't need to apologise, okay?"

"Mmm." Yuuri hummed as he attempted to nod his head – though he immediately found that it was painful and nauseating to do so.

Victor saw the flicker of discomfort across Yuuri's face. "Careful love, you've got a head injury so just stay still okay."

"A-a head injury?" Yuuri said, although he slurred his words slightly.

"Yeah. How are you feeling?"

"Dizzy and…I feel kind of…light? Numb? I don't know how to describe it really."

"Does anything hurt?"

"Not really…just when I tried to move my head."

"That's good, I'm glad you're not in too much pain. The doctor said they gave you some pretty powerful pain meds when you woke up last night."

"Eh? I woke up last night?" Yuuri asked.

"Yes, don't you remember?"

"No…" Yuuri answered, his eyebrows pulling into a concerned expression.

"Ah, don't worry too much about it love. The doctor said you fell asleep pretty quickly once they put you on the painkillers."

Yuuri hummed lazily in acknowledgment.

Victor began to notice how lethargic Yuuri seemed and realised that despite having been unconscious for several days and only being awake for a matter of minutes, he was already feeling drained.

Whilst, in all honesty, Victor didn't want Yuuri to go to sleep again anytime soon, he knew that he had to consider what was best for his partner's health. He sighed.

"Love, if you're tired it's okay to go to sleep."

"But I can sleep later." Yuuri whined but his eyes were already virtually closed.

Victor let out a short laugh before placing a chaste kiss on the uninjured side of Yuuri's face. "Don't be stubborn Yuura. If your body needs rest to get better, then please rest. I'll have to go soon anyway, visiting hours are almost over, but I'll be back as soon as the hospital staff will let me in."

"D'you promise?" Yuuri asked sleepily.

Victor gave a small laugh. "Of course."

Knowing that he'd have to leave Yuuri here overnight did not sit well with Victor. In all honesty, if he could not remain in this room with Yuuri outside of visiting hours, he was considering staying overnight in the waiting room again, although he knew Yuuri's family would protest to that.

 _Ah, Yuuri's family!_ Victor remembered suddenly. He had been so happy to see Yuuri awake and to finally be able to hold him and talk to him again that he'd completely forgotten to message anyone that Yuuri had woken up.

He quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket, sending a brief text to Mari to let her know that Yuuri had finally woken up but also that her brother would likely fall asleep again soon.

"Sorry Yuuri, I nearly forgot to tell-" Victor started as he put his phone away and looked back to Yuuri, who was already fast asleep. Victor's heart skipped a beat as his gaze snapped to the heartrate monitor which, to his relief, was still beeping regularly.

Victor pressed a light kiss to Yuuri's forehead before he sat back and watched over his partner.

* * *

Around five minutes later Hiroko, Toshiya and Mari arrived at the door.

"Yuuri?" Mari called, hoping to hear a response from her brother as the three entered the room.

Victor turned to look at them before apologetically saying "Ah, sorry, he fell asleep again."

Mari sighed. "Of course he did." She wasn't irritated with Yuuri for falling asleep, rather she was frustrated at their poor luck and timing.

"How was he Vicchan?" Toshiya asked, as he and Hiroko took the other two seats by Yuuri's bed.

"He was okay – he seemed a bit confused and out of it but not too bad."

"What did the doctor say?" Mari asked.

 _Shit. I forgot to get the doctor._ Victor thought, scratching the back of his head sheepishly."Umm…I may have forgotten to…"

Mari laughed. "You're a real idiot sometimes, you know that?"

* * *

Afterwards, Mari had gone to inform a nurse that Yuuri had woken up briefly but that he had also quickly returned to slumber. The nurse then told her that a doctor would soon come in to check Yuuri over, though she scolded Mari for not informing them sooner so that they could have spoken with the patient directly to get a better read of his condition. Mari apologised for that, despite it not really being her fault, before passing on all the information about Yuuri's time awake that Victor had told her.

Less than half an hour after the Katsukis' arrival, the hospital's visiting hours ended and they, alongside Victor, were asked to leave for the night, leaving the still sleeping Yuuri alone in the hospital room.

It took some extra effort that evening, but Hiroko managed to convince Victor to come home for the night, half dragging him to Minako's car for the cramped two-hour drive home.

* * *

As always, Makkachin greeted Victor at the door upon their arrival. Whilst she hopped about excitedly, Victor observed as the dog tried to look for Yuuri behind him again only to give a whine before seeking affection from Victor.

"Hello Makkachin. Who's a good girl?" Victor said as he squatted down to run his hands through the poodle's soft fur.

She yipped in return, wagging her tail. Victor smiled at her and then stood up to move out of the entryway with the others, Makkachin trotting closely behind him as they walked through to the reception to find the others.

The inn had been closed over the wedding-weekend with the intention of allowing all of Yuuri's family some free-time to spend with the newlyweds as well as to let them house all of their foreign friends and guests for a couple of nights. It was _supposed_ to have re-opened to the public yesterday, however with everything that was going on and a number of the wedding guests wanting to stay in Hasetsu longer than expected, they decided to keep the inn closed for a few more days.

In the lobby, some of Victor and Yuuri's friends were relaxing with drinks and watching a movie. Yuri was the first one there to greet Victor as he walked in before the younger Russian asked whether there was any news.

Victor relayed what had happened that afternoon, telling them how Yuuri had woken up for a few fleeting minutes, before going back to sleep.

"Did he seem okay?" Phichit asked curiously.

"Hmm, he was sort of out of it I guess, but he remembered me and could make conversation. He didn't seem to be in much pain either." Victor said.

"That's a relief." Phichit said with a reassured sigh.

"Mmm."

"Let's all go tomorrow then. If there's a good chance he'll be awake again then it would be nice for him to have as many friendly faces to greet him as possible, right?" Chris suggested.

"Yeah, but what about the '3 visitors at a time' rule?" Otabek reminded him.

"Well, we can just take turns."

"Fine, but I'd like to see you try and pry Victor or Kastsudon's family away from him just so that one of us can go in to see him." Yuri scoffed.

"Maybe if we explained that it'd make Yuuri happy to see us…"

"You think we're more important to him than his _family_? Than his lifelong friends? If he's only awake for a little while again, his time is going to be monopolized by them."

"Hmmm, fair point." Chris sighed in defeat.

Victor listened to the back and forth between his friends. He knew that they all cared for Yuuri a lot and that likewise, Yuuri cared for them greatly. But Yuri made a good point, there were quite a few others who were even closer to Yuuri than the other skaters. Besides himself and Yuuri's close family, there was also Minako and the Nishigoris. Although…

"Well Phichit might have a chance." Victor mumbled in a teasing manner, knowing that Yuuri considered the man as one of his closest friends.

"Ah really?!" Phichit lit up at Victor's comment.

"I still think we should all go." Otabek said. "It would be nice for him to know we're all there for him."

Victor smiled at that. It was nice to know that there were so many others looking out for his fiancé. "I think Otabek's right. It would cheer him up knowing you all care so much."

"It's agreed then. We'll all come to the hospital tomorrow then." Chris concluded.

* * *

The group kept up some light conversation until the movie ended. They then had dinner together with Yuuri's family. Most of them went back into the lounge area to play some board games but Victor decided to turn in early.

Truthfully, Victor wanted to go to bed as soon as possible to try and sleep through the night until morning so that he could see Yuuri sooner, it was his closest option to teleporting through time. He took a quick shower before going through his nightly routine and getting into his and Yuuri's bed.

Victor found himself struggling to sleep even more so than the past two nights despite being home and less afraid for Yuuri. He rolled over to stare at the empty side of the bed next to him. Speaking to Yuuri that afternoon somehow made him feel even more lonely as he lay there without him.

Sensing her master's distress, Makkachin moved from where she had curled up at the end of the bed and wiggled into Victor's arms. Upon this, Victor snuggled closer to her, wishing the hours would pass faster so that he could return to Yuuri.

* * *

 **A/N:** I apologise if the one Russian thing I had in there is incorrect ('moyo zolotse' should mean 'my gold'). Thanks to all of you guys for reading, I hope you liked the chapter. And a special thanks to those who left reviews!


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